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Candy Cane Vodka

‘Tis the season for families, decorating, giving back…and holiday parties. Nothing like acting casual around your neighbors/coworkers while trying to ensure you did not indulge into much eggnog. A majority of parties are held at people’s homes. Being at someone’s house automatically started the crafty-Christmas mind spinning. What to bring for a hostess gift?! It needs to be something different to show people how you appreciate them and their kindness for opening up their home to you. Wine is always good, and you can dress up the bottle with personalized tags or little wine bottle outfits. Another idea is to make your our infused liquor. It’s actually ridiculously easy. And you know what they say, ‘once you go infused, you never go back.’

The How-to

This is so easy and cost-effective if you have multiple recipients.

You will need:

Vodka (make sure to use mid-shelf or top-shelf– it does make a difference) Any size depending on how many bottles you are making

Candy Canes

A funnel for putting the vodka into the bottles

Bottles that can be sealed without leaks

Printer for labels

Paper and full-page labels

Any holiday doo dads to decorate the finished product

Begin by measuring your vodka and pouring it into the containers. The glass flask was purchased at the Container Store and holds 8.5 oz. There are some recipes out there that will tell you to pulverize your candy canes into a dust then add that to your vodka and shake. That is a fast alternative, but this recipe is more of a day or two recipe.

For this recipe, I found that I used 5-6 candy canes per 8 oz. You will need to taste them to ensure there is enough sweetness to peppermint ratio. It is all about personal preference, so you can increase or decrease as required. Using 6 candy canes in my bottles created a sweeter drink that actually tasted pretty darn good by itself.

Open the candy canes and break apart. Place into the glasses and THEN add the vodka. I did it the other way around and I neglected to remember that whole water displacement thing and had to pour some vodka out (hence the second bottle seen below). Also, when the candy canes get wet from the vodka, they are very sticky and hard to move around.

Once you have all your candy canes and vodka together, you’re done. No, seriously. That is all that needs to happen for this awesome homemade gift. The process of the candy canes dissolving is relatively quick. The flask was made about 20 minutes before the bottle on the right. I did just let them sit over night and agitated them a few times to make sure there were no pieces left inside.

Next, add a label to personalize the bottle. I went with a rustic theme because it seemed to fit my homemade vibe for this project. Here is the label and tag I created. The fonts are available at DaFont.com (Main titles, text).

I also picked up some little ornaments from a big box store to add a little flair to my bottle. All in all, this project is super easy and economical. I plan on getting about 8 presents done with one 1.75 liter bottle and 48 or so candy canes. I might pair this gift with two hot chocolate packets just for something extra and to encourage them to try it right away. Oh- and did I mention that I slightly abhor liquor and this I actually enjoy it straight with nothing added. I can only imagine how amazing the coffee or hot chocolate version tastes!

Samplings

After that last drop of wine is gone, the last finger foods nibbled, and the last guest happily wanders out, you just want to enjoy the night and clean up in the morning– BUT WAIT– what about all those dripping glasses all over your new wood furniture?! Whose idea was it to serve ice?! Call it ‘Lord of the UN-Rings,’ but no one wants to wake up to three dozen tennis-ball-sized rings all over their coffee table after an awesome soiree.

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Man-zan-ita! After securing the manzanita branches in foam, it was time to decorate. The decorations were hand made and extremely cheap and easy to make, but look like a million dollars! The theme of the party was secured in every touch in the centerpiece– from the color scheme to the table card names.

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Beat the dread “Tree Stump” virus that hits guests at party where they become glued to their seats! Tantalize them with creative drinks and names that go with the party theme that will make them say “Hmm, I wonder what a Field Trip Gone Wrong tastes like?”

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Guest can sometimes be stuck to their chairs all night and not socialize. So what is better than a childhood song and a pop quiz?! These activities are made to get some laughs, get people up, and get people learning more about the retiree.

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Whether for teacher appreciation week, end of the year gift, or a teacher’s retirement party, this little pencil vase will be a hit! Just some glue, a plastic container, and some ribbon you can have a unique and great vase!